You’re getting married this summer. Congratulations, you’re about to navigate a whole stack of issues that involve careful preparation to get everyone on side with your plans for that special day!
Challenge number one
Convince guests to contribute to wedding gift vouchers as a collective gift.
The average age for Millennials to get married in Australia is 29 years for women, and 30 years old for men. Research shows that the top things Millennials are spending their money on is convenience, online shopping, eating out, experiences and travel, streaming services, debt, and social impact by donating and buying from socially responsible brands. The average age for Australians buying a home is 36 years old. From this, our pick, is most people getting married would like to spend their money on experiences and travel.
Five ways to ask for gift vouchers for wedding gifts
Asking for guests to contribute to a collective stay voucher for your wedding present is sort of like asking for money. And the most polite way to ask for money is to include a link to a digital gift voucher on the information card that accompanies the wedding invitation. Because it is digital, it can be customised to match your wedding theme. All you need to do is ask your wedding invitation designer to supply the fonts, colours and any images to the wedding registry website or digital gift voucher provider.
Giving gift vouchers is the modern thing to do and you will find most guests are relieved to be given clear direction on where to shop. It’s not for everyone though, and some close family members may want the option of giving a particular gift that has personal meaning attached. You guessed it, this means two types of invitation, one for 99% of your guests, and the other, for guests who will have an exact present in mind or perhaps they will hand craft a present just for you.
Wording is everything, let your guests know they are the most important thing to you, the gift is secondary. List your gift preference or preferences on the information card, and include a supporting sentence, an example could be, “your gift will be making a contribution to our honeymoon on the Gold Coast”. Then, maybe ask a relative to also let certain guests know about the gift, by telling them in person.
Make sure you choose a digital gift voucher that has a section for guests to leave a message of love to you both. Let them know the messages may be read out loud at the wedding reception. This way you get a great source of hilarity for the speeches, as well as getting the gift of your choice. Sharing your ‘why’ will help your guests to consider the proposition of contributing to a gift voucher, and it also takes the focus away on how much they will contribute.
Although you are asking your guests to buy a gift voucher or voucher accommodation, this doesn’t mean they don’t have a say in what you are going to spend the money on. A fun thing to do is to choose three things you would like to buy with your wedding gift voucher, and then ask guests to vote at the wedding reception. Be imaginative, guests can vote for their favourite gift with toy aeroplanes for a travel fund, and what about pieces of driftwood to represent outdoor furniture?
It can feel awkward asking people to give you money for your wedding, so weave in some of your personal story. This is a cute way of presenting the digital gift voucher option and helps your guests to imagine exactly what they are contributing to.
Eight things to look for when choosing a digital wedding registry or digital gift voucher
Not all gift vouchers are created equal. Follow these tips to avoid problems when you are trying to redeem your wedding gift.
- Make sure the voucher can be customised to reflect your wedding day in every possible way.
- Most people will pay by credit or debit card, so make sure all major cards are accepted.
- You should be able to easily access the digital gift card, without having to download software.
- Partial or full redemption is critical. If you are planning on spending your wedding guests’ generosity on multiple dinners, spa treatments, city tours, and outdoor excursions then you will need to have the ability to partially redeem the gift.
- You want to be able to see where you have spent the voucher, so a complete record is required and you should be able to check the balance from your phone.
- If you go overseas, then it will be necessary for the gift voucher to be converted into another currency and for the digital voucher to be multi-lingual.
- Must be easy to use, and if required 24/7 service and support should be available.
- Lastly, make sure the gift voucher you choose for your wedding is compliant with various state laws.
Does your hospitality business have a gift voucher solution that can also be a wedding registry?
Book a free demo using the calendar or contact our Partnerships Director Nick Hollows nick@omnihyper.com and find out how HyperGift® can generate additional revenue for your hotel through online gift voucher sales!